The Curse of Eternal Youth
by Scribblesinink
Summary: A talkshow sets Cole thinking about what the future will hold for him and Phoebe. When he tries to take matters in his own hands, things go horribly wrong...


THE CURSE OF ETERNAL YOUTH  
  
Prologue - sometime early-October 2001  
  
How to get through the afternoon? Cole was bored. Bored out of his mind, actually. He was alone in the manor with nothing to relieve his ennui. At least during his demonic soldiering days he had never lacked for things to keep him busy. There was always another enemy to be killed, another assignment to accept, another scheme to complete. Oh, being good was fulfilling, mostly. It was at times like this, with nothing to do and nobody to keep him company, that it was hardest to suppress his demon half.  
  
He shimmered from room to room as he searched for something to keep him occupied and out of trouble until Phoebe came home. At last he ended up in the parlor and studied the family photographs on the dresser. They stood haphazardly in their frames. Could he get the frames to line up without touching them? A small voice deep in the back of his mind dared him to try. Cole's lips curled into a smile and he took several steps back. A small twitch of his fingers and one of the frames slid forward. A deep line of concentration appeared between his brows; another wiggle, and a second photo shifted a fraction of an inch.   
  
He kept practicing for a while until he used too much force on one of the frames and it toppled off the dresser. Only a quick shimmer kept it from crashing to the floor and which would no doubt have broken the glass. Cole did not want to have to explain that to Piper.   
  
He put the photo back on the dresser and glanced at the clock. Just after four. What to do next?  
  
Out of sheer desperation, he turned on the television. He flopped on the couch, grabbed the remote and started zapping through the channels. "The family of a young man who was shot to death by police in a downtown San Francisco..." The news. Click. "Call 1-800-COLLECT and..." Commercial. Click. "Look for more fog and cooler weather starting on...." Weather Channel. Click. "Today on 'Ricki'". In bright colors and accompanied by gay music the words splashed onto the screen. Cole sighed. Wasn't there anything decent on? "Young men, older women: devil's work or a match made in heaven?" Click. He had changed the channel before the announcement fully sank in and, his curiosity piqued, he switched back.  
  
"My first two guests," Ricki said on the screen, "are Mary and Robert. She is 71, he is almost a third her age: Robert is 28." The camera swung away from the host and polite applause rose from the audience when the couple entered the studio. Cole blinked, then grimaced: they were quite a sight. Mary was an elderly lady with gray curls that framed a wrinkled face. Robert, a handsome young man, gave her an affectionate smile while he helped her sit down before taking his own seat.  
  
The director inserted a shot of the audience and their expressions reflected Cole's emotions: horrified mesmerism mixed with pity mixed with curiosity.  
  
"People often think he's my grandson," Mary chuckled in a thin voice. "We learned that it's better not to correct them. People don't understand."  
  
A trifle nauseous, yet fascinated, Cole continued to watch the show and listened to the odd couple tell about their life together, about the negative reactions they received to their age difference. He never heard the front door open and didn't realize Phoebe had arrived home until two soft arms wrapped themselves around his neck and warm lips nibbled on his ear. "Have you been good? What are you watching?"  
  
Cole nearly jumped out of his skin. "Uhm... don't know. Nothing." He quickly reached for the remote to turn off the television but it was too late.   
  
"Eww," Phoebe said while she dropped down on the couch beside him. She nestled herself into his arms. "Can you believe that? It's... Well, I can see *her* point," she chuckled. "He's yummy. But him? Yuck. She has to be rich." She grabbed the remote from Cole's hands and flipped the channel.  
  
"Perhaps they love each other," Cole murmured. The words died on his lips when Phoebe kissed him and he soon forgot all about the afternoon's tedium and the talkshow's subject.  
  
  
  
November 2, 2001  
  
Phoebe opened the front door to the manor to be greeted by a deep silence. She breathed a sad sigh. Although it was her birthday, it seemed like everyone had forgotten. She had tried to hint at the upcoming event to Cole and Piper but neither had picked up on the signals. She dropped her purse and walked into the sitting room.  
  
"Surprise!" A dozen voices rose at once and family and friends materialized before Phoebe's astonished eyes. She froze on the threshold, so startled that it took all her willpower to not jump into the air and levitate. She was certain that, had she possessed Piper's power, she would have frozen the room. Or had she been Prue -her heart twitched at the thought of her deceased sister- she might have thrown all the birthday guests through the sunroom windows. Yes, this was one time Phoebe was glad she did not have such active powers.  
  
Her eyes, wide, traveled over the gathered crowd to come to rest on a pair of blue ones that sparkled with mischief and some uncertainty. Cole made his way over to her. "Happy birthday, Phoebe," he grinned. He leaned forward to kiss her. "Did you really think I had forgotten?" he added in a whisper to her ear. A shiver ran along her spine when his breath caressed her skin.  
  
"Yes, Cole Turner, I did," she admitted. She glared at him, her voice stern with mock anger, and wiggled her finger in his face. "That was not a very nice thing of you, to bamboozle me like that. And I will-"   
  
Then others were on her and they took her away from Cole in a whirl of hugs and kisses before she could finish her threat.   
  
"Happy birthday, Pheebs," Piper smiled. She made her way through the crowd and hugged her younger sibling.  
  
"Happy birthday, sis," Paige added with a wink. Phoebe blinked. It still felt weird to have another sister.  
  
She didn't have time to dwell on it. They swept her away on a wave of people, paper streamers, presents and pie in celebration of her 26th birthday.  
  
* * *  
  
Cole watched her go. Her eyes sparkled and her face was alight with a happy smile. Gods, he loved her! He knew how much Phoebe enjoyed surprises. That was why he had conspired with her sisters to throw her a party. It had been hard not to tell, to pretend ignorance. Especially when Phoebe kept dropping clues to remind him of her forthcoming birthday. The look on her face had been worth the trouble though. And Cole didn't worry about the unspoken threat. He was secure in the knowledge of their love; no doubt Phoebe's idea for revenge would be quite pleasant.  
  
Still, the smile faded from his eyes when the crowd disappeared into the sunroom and headed for the cake and drinks. He thoroughly disliked the concept of birthdays. Always had. He lacked the good memories that most mortals associated with that yearly anniversary of their birth. And he hated Phoebe's birthdays even more. The thought that one would keep coming up every year on this day in November was unbearable. Every time she would be a year older, while he-  
  
A peal of laughter came from the crowd in the sunroom and the happy sound invaded Cole's dark train of thought. He pushed through the kitchen door, grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge and went outside to sit on the steps in front of the manor.  
  
"Penny for you thoughts."   
  
Cole gave a start and looked up. Leo stood beside him. Behind the Whitelighter, the door to the Manor was ajar and muted voices drifted out. They were singing 'Happy Birthday' and Cole cringed.   
  
"Mind if I sit down?" Leo asked.  
  
Cole looked back at the street and gave a dismissive wave. "It's a free country." The last thing he wanted was to talk to Leo. Still, he couldn't tell him to get lost, could he? So he pretended to ignore the Whitelighter. He took another swig of the beer and followed a passing car with his eyes.  
  
"Something bothering you?" Leo pressed.  
  
Cole groaned inwardly. It was on his lips to tell him it was none of his business. Leo meant well, but sometimes Cole wondered how the sisters could stand his meddlesome curiosity.  
  
"Nope," he said. He hoped Leo would finally take the hint and leave him alone. No such luck.  
  
"Yeah, right." Leo had sat down on the step beside Cole. He appeared unaware of Cole's desire to be alone. "That's why you sit here by yourself, moping, while everyone else is having fun."  
  
"I'm not moping," Cole muttered.  
  
Leo didn't reply and for long minutes the two men sat in silence. Another car passed and in the distance they could hear a couple of tomcats fighting over their territory.  
  
"I think I know what this is about," Leo broke the silence. "It's Phoebe. Or, more accurately, Phoebe's birthday. It bothers you that she's growing older while-"  
  
Cole's head whipped around and he stared at the Whitelighter. His eyes were round in surprise. "How did you..."   
  
Leo chuckled. "Don't look at me like that," he said. "I know *exactly* what your problem is. We Whitelighters don't age *at all*. How's that for comparison?"  
  
Understanding dawned on Cole. Leo was in the same boat as he was. He shifted around so he could face Leo better. "So, how do you handle it? Does Piper know?" He cast a wary glance at the door. Someone had turned on the music and the dum-dum of a popular bassline drowned out the voices.  
  
Leo shrugged. "We never talked about it. I suspect that deep down she does know, on an instinctive level. So will Phoebe. They're just ignoring the problem. If they really would think about it-"  
  
"I don't want Phoebe to think about it!" Cole growled. "I want it to be different! It's so unfair, to know that I'll have to watch her grow old and die..." His voice trailed off.  
  
"You're right, it's not fair," Leo agreed. "But you can't let that control you. You can't change it. All you can do is enjoy the time you have together. She's young, she has a lifetime ahead of her. And if you and Phoebe truly are soul mates, you'll find her again."  
  
"Gee, Leo, thanks," Cole grumped. "That really makes me feel better."  
  
Leo gave another shrug and got back to his feet to return to the party. Cole was left alone to dwell in his glum thoughts.  
  
  
  
Six weeks later  
  
Phoebe ran up the steps to the manor. Her face was red with exertion and her brow creased in worry. She flung the door open and rushed into the hallway. "Piper? Paige! Has Cole called?"  
  
Piper appeared in the doorway to the kitchen. "What's that? Cole? No, he hasn't called. I thought that you and he-"  
  
"Yes, we were," Phoebe said before Piper could finish. She shrugged out of her coat and walked over the phone to check for messages. The light didn't blink and she turned back to Piper. "We were going to have lunch and then do some Christmas shopping. Cole never showed. I sat in that damn place for an hour, trying very hard not to look stood up and ignoring the pitiful looks of the waiters. I tried to call him; there's no answer. I hoped that maybe he had left a message here."  
  
"Sorry, no," Piper shook her head. "I've been here all morning. Nobody called."  
  
Phoebe frowned and started pacing. "I don't like it. It's not like Cole to stay away without a word. Something must be wrong."  
  
"You mean something demonic?" Piper asked.   
  
"Maybe," Phoebe nodded. "It's not as if car trouble could keep Cole from going where he wants to go. I'll go check the mausoleum." It was the one place she could think of where Cole would hide if he were in trouble. It was his refuge, his haven, where he knew every nook and cranny.  
  
"Want me to come with you?" Piper offered.  
  
"No, I'll be fine. I'll call you, okay?"  
  
"Okay. Be careful, honey."  
  
* * *  
  
It didn't take Phoebe long to reach the mausoleum. "Cole?" she called as she pulled the door open. She started down the steps and the cool air enveloped her. "Are you here?" From the corner of her eye she caught a flicker, a small movement in the shadows. "Cole?"  
  
"Stay away from me." Cole's reply drifted from the darkness. "Please."  
  
"Cole, baby, what's wrong?" Something about his voice worried her. It was Cole's, no doubt about that, yet something in his tone was off. She couldn't quite put her finger on it. She took a step forward.  
  
"Phoebe! I mean it! Stay away!"   
  
She flinched. His voice was cold, and that hurt, but beneath the coldness Phoebe recognized a deep despair. She took another step and she could make out his silhouette. He looked... smaller somehow, bent, and she frowned. What was going on? Cole shifted and a bar of light fell on his hair. Phoebe gasped. "Your hair!" It was white as snow.  
  
Cole muttered something and inched deeper into the shadows. Phoebe no longer cared what he told her. She rushed forward, grabbed his arm and pulled him into the dim glow of the lamps. She gasped again.  
  
"Oh... my ... God..." The man before her was Cole, yet he wasn't. Hunched over, face covered in wrinkled skin, the clothes a size too large on a shrunken body, he looked ancient. Or more to the point, he looked his true age, 116 years old.  
  
He gazed at her, their eyes almost level. "I'm sorry, Phoebe," he murmured. His voice quivered thinly, the voice of an old man's. "I wanted to... I tried... Something went wrong."  
  
"Shh, it's all right," Phoebe whispered. She helped him to sit down and lean against one of the sarcophaguses. "Leo! Leeeooo!!" The name echoed through the chamber.   
  
A few seconds later her call was heeded and Leo orbed in. He took one look at Cole and his eyes went round. "Oh hell... You couldn't leave it alone, could you?"  
  
"Leo, do something!" Phoebe urged. Tears burned behind her eyelids and she rocked Cole's body in her arms.  
  
"I'm sorry, Phoebe," Leo said. He knelt beside them. "I can't heal old age."  
  
"Old age?" she cried. She shifted to look at Leo. "This morning he was fine! People don't get old in a few hours!"  
  
"They might, when magic is involved," Leo said. His face was sad.  
  
Phoebe turned back at Cole. "Who did this to you?"  
  
"Nobody," Cole admitted. "I did."  
  
"You... What?! Why?"  
  
"Because I didn't want to lose you." He pulled his eyes away from her.  
  
Phoebe looked from Cole to Leo and back. Confusion was written in her features. "I don't understand," she muttered.  
  
"Phoebe," Leo answered in Cole's stead, "Cole is only half-human. His demon half has a much longer life span. If he had let nature takes its course, he'd have aged a lot slower than you would."  
  
"Remember that t.v. show?" Cole said. "The talkshow with that unlikely couple? In fifty years that would be us."  
  
Phoebe frowned. She wasn't sure what he referred to and racked her brain for the correct memory. In a flash she remembered when she had come home two months ago: the way he had been glued to the screen, how she had shrugged off the couple's feelings for each other without a second thought.  
  
"I didn't want us to have to deal with that," Cole continued in a low voice. "The ridicule, the veiled contempt. I wanted to be like you, grow old with you. I wanted to be human. I couldn't stand the thought of watching you die." His breathing was labored and he struggled with every word. "There was a spell... In the Book... Paige wrote it down for me."  
  
Phoebe brushed her hand along Cole's cheek; the wrinkled skin was raspy beneath her fingers. "Oh baby, what have you done?" she whispered. More tears welled in her eyes and they threatened to overflow. She blinked to clear the tears away.  
  
"He broke the personal gain-rule," Leo said quietly. "There are always consequences."   
  
Phoebe nodded in agreement. It had taken several close calls before she and her sisters accepted that they couldn't use white magic for personal gain. Now Cole was paying the price for learning that same lesson. She wasn't about to give up on him though.  
  
She grabbed Leo's sleeve. "We have to reverse the spell," she said. "We have to get Cole to the Manor and get Piper and Paige and-"  
  
Cole reached for her hand. "You can't."  
  
"Of course we can," Phoebe assured him. "We've got the Power of Three, remember."  
  
"Phoebe, Cole is right," Leo said. "This is irreversible."  
  
"No! Why?" she protested. "We reversed Dan's."  
  
"That was different," Leo said. "That curse was revoked because the genie that cast it gave up his freedom. There is no spell to undo what Cole has done to himself."  
  
"Nonono, that can't be true," Phoebe said. She refused to believe what the two men tried to tell her. They always managed to make things right. "There has to be a way."  
  
"Phoebe..." Cole's voice broke and a tear trickled a path among the wrinkles of his cheek. "I'm sorry. I'm going to die. It's not so bad." He smiled weakly. "I was born in 1885. If not for my demon blood, I would have died a long time ago. I would never have met you."  
  
"No! You can't die! I won't have it!" The tears finally spilled over and ran down Phoebe's face. Life was so unfair. First her sister, now Cole.   
  
"Phoebe, listen to me!" With a visible effort Cole sat up and grabbed her arms. "I love you! And I'll wait for you. One day, we *will* have our lifetime together!"  
  
"Promise?" Her voice was small.  
  
"I promise." His eyes closed and he sagged back against the cold stone. His breathing came in little, irregular gasps. With Leo's help, Phoebe repositioned Cole's body so his head rested comfortably in her lap. Gently she brushed a few strands of white hair from his face.  
  
"I love you, Cole Turner."  
  
Silence descended on the tomb. The only sound was Cole's ragged breathing. Until that also stopped.  
  
--END-  
  
Disclaimer: this story based on the Spelling Television/WB Television Network series 'Charmed'. All characters belong to their original owners. The story is meant for entertainment purposes only and no copyright infringement was intended.   
  
Contact the author at amanda@mooncross.com  



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